The geopolitical escalation has become the main catalyst for the rapid collapse in financial markets.
President Donald Trump has said that a huge armada led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is heading for Iran, and time is running out for a new nuclear deal. He threatened military actions surpassing previous operations.
Iran's foreign minister responded that Iranian forces were "on standby," raising concerns about a regional conflict that could disrupt the Strait of Hormuz.
As a result, shares of American companies were under pressure from a sharp sell-off, and the securities of technology companies, including Microsoft, were the first to suffer.
The prospect of a shutdown of the US government related to the standoff over funding for the Department of Homeland Security also had a negative impact. All this has added even more uncertainty to the market situation.
After bitcoin stayed above the $87,000 mark, the exchange rate fell below $84,000, reaching an intraday low of $83,407. During the day, the price of BTC decreased by 6.6%.
The cryptocurrency economy as a whole lost 5.29%, and on the evening of January 29, its capitalization dropped to $2.87 trillion.
The trading volume for the day increased by about $15 billion, although most of these funds were used to pressure sellers and take profits after BTC broke the $90,000 mark a day earlier.
Bitcoin is under pressure from several sides, starting with the tough stance of the US Federal Reserve, which left the federal funds rate unchanged. Added to this is the growing concern about military conflicts between States. On top of that, over-leveraged long positions continue to provoke liquidation chains in low-liquidity environments.